Professor Being Eyed for FTC Counsel Post

William E. Kovacic, the George Washington University law professor who was one of the most prolific commentators on the Microsoft Corp. antitrust case, is under consideration to become general counsel of the Federal Trade Commission. An announcement could come Friday.

Kovacic, whose interpretation of the Clinton administration’s landmark antitrust case against the software giant often closely squared with the government’s view, would be joining a Republican administration that has a more restrained view of antitrust enforcement.

Kovacic, who earned his law degree from Columbia University, acknowledged in a phone interview that he was under consideration for the post but, in a rare bout of speechlessness, declined to comment on the FTC post or the Microsoft case.